Political Participation of Women in India

Women’s participation in mainstream political activity has important implications for the broader arena of governance in any country. Governance relates to a set of rules, institutions, and values that are involved in the management of state and society. Governance institutions and processes include political parties, parliaments, government and their interactions with society. Although governance is a generic term which could mean good government or management, the governance values, types of government, the nature of political processes, the political parties and organizations, which/whose interests are represented and protected, and the extent of power that the masses have to challenge the state or in suggesting alternatives in methods of governance etc.may vary in different political systems. Liberal democracy is founded on reason, law, and freedom of choice but the position of different social groups in the social and political space where power islocated is not always equal in practice. This is particularly so in the case ofwomen. The nature of society or state has a decisive impact on the extent andeffectiveness of women’s political presence and participation. Notions ofDemocracy, governance and the state are often no gender neutral constructs butresult from both historical factors and experiences. The state and itsorganizational entities reflect the same social forces as other socialOrganizations. It is thus necessary to examine the gender balance in women’sparticipation in the political process, decision making and policy formulation.

The limited nature of female participation and representation in national decisionmaking institutions has important consequences for women and for thelegitimacy of the institutions. Where women constitute half the population in apolitical system which supports equality and where both women and men arelegally eligible for political office, women’s participation should be equal to that ofmen. If this is not the case, it signifies deep flaws within the political system.Representation are not only a means of ensuring individual participation. It is alsothe responsibility of the representatives to act on behalf of the constituents, including women, who elected them and reflect their ideas and aspirations.Women’s disproportionate absence from the political process would mean thatthe concerns of half the population cannot be sufficiently attended to or acted upon as it denies their viewpoints sufficient opportunity to be integrated in the Political system.

CHAPTER 1
WOMEN IN POLITICS IN INDIAWhile the Indian democratic state is committed to the protection of individual rights within the context of citizenship, a closer look at how it operates for the women reveals that these rights are not accessible in the public and private spheres in their full potential to all the women in India. There are historical, social and cultural factors that have limited women’s capacity and chances to exercise their freedom to participate in the political processes. The evolution of Indian democracy through the 14 general elections so far has reflected a low representation of women in Parliament, State legislatures, in political parties and other decision-making bodies. The under representation of women in the political sphere is inextricably linked with the low and inferior status of women in society in India especially in the context of the declining sex ratio (Table 1), increasing violence and crimes against women and their marginalized status in employment, education and health sectors.(Human Development in South Asia:2003). The comparative position of gender-related development index (GDI) reveals that among 177 countries, India ranks 113 this, indicating its very low gender-equity status as evident from the Table below:

Although the gap between male and female literacy rates has been narrowing, there is still very large disparity in this regard. While male literacy rate in...

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Democracy and PoliticalParticipation
1. Citizenship and politicalparticipation
a) Citizenship
- Once people became citizens of democratic states they had both rights and duties
RIGHTS
DUTIES
To live in the state
To obey laws
To vote in free elections
To accept government policies
To stand for public office
To pay tax
To be treated equally in law
Possibly join army (conscription)
To be trailed before punished
Civil liberties – freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of religion and thought.
b) PoliticalParticipation
- Examples: public to be informed about issues, online surveys, voting, joining
parties, standing for political office
Recently two political ideas have encouraged involvement
1. Active Citizenship
Labour Party policy in 1990s – they wanted all citizens to get involved and this was by neighbourhood watch, local charities or in different political parties
2. Big Society
New form of politicalparticipation – introduced by David Cameron
Wanted local activism so free schools to be run by local groups, action groups to provide employment opportunities for the youth.
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